Stop motion



' July 11, 1939.

R. H. LAWSON ETAL I 2,165,975

l sToP MOTION ATTy.

.July 11 1939- R. H. LAWSON ET AL 2,165,975

' STOP MOTION Filed oct. 11, 1935 v 4 sheets-sheet 2 Flc. 2. 4E

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STOP ,MOTION Filed Oct. 1l, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 [NMEA/70H5.'

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STOP MOTION Filed Oct. l1, 1935 #Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented July 11, 1939UNITEDy STATES PATENT OFI-ica STOP MOTION Bobert H. Lawson and WilliamL. Smith, Jr., Pawtucket, B. I., assignors to Hemphill Company,

Central Falls, B. La

chusetts corporation of Massa- Appuca'uon october 11, 1935, sensi No.44,591 in om october zo, 1934 6 Claims. (Cl. Gil-157) Fig. 2 is anelevation showing one of the singlev i guiding and stopping deviceswhich is applied to each yarn feeding station;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view showing three of the yarn guides andstop motions applied to adjacent cam blocks; Y

lo Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing in detail the manner in whichadjacent stopping assemblies are connected to form a complete electricalcircult;

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing one of these as- 20 semblies with the yarnfeeding flngerin operative position; Fig. 6 is an elevationcorresponding to Fig. 5, the yarn being shown feeding to the needles;

Fig. 7 is an elevation showing how the detent engages yarn which hasbeen broken;

Fig. 8 is a view partly in section showing the mechanism of Fig. 'I asseen from another angle;

Fig. 9 is an elevational view showing how the stopping device isoperated when contacted by a i needle having a broken butt;

f Fig. 9a is a partial sectional view showing the plunger of Fig. 9 ingreater detail;

Fig. 10 is ayview corresponding to Fig. 9, but showing the device asseen from another angle;

`l Fig. 11 is a sectional view showing how the stopping device isactuated when fabric has hunched up after being cast off the needles;

Figs. 12 and 13 are elevations showing the normal and stopping positionsrespectively of the fabric engaging nger shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 14 is an elevation showing the yarn finger and stopping assembly,the yarn finger being swung upwardly to an inoperative position;

Fig. 15 is a sectional view showing 'a part of 45 the stopping devicewhich functions upon engagement with a hole in the fabric;

Fig. 16 is a plan view showing the elements of Fig. l5; and

Fig. 17 is a diagrammatic view showing the I0 eiegtaitcal circuit ofwhich this stop motion forms 'I'he stopping mechanism herein shown anddescribed is particularly adapted to be used with multi-feed knittingmachines and forms avunii tary structure in combination with the yarnfeeding finger which is essential to deliver yarn to the needles at eachfeeding station. As shown,

vthis feeding and stopping device is quickly attached or detached fromone of the cam block assemblies upon which it is mounted, it being pos-L5. sible to remove one or more of these combined feeding and stoppingassemblies without disturbing the function of those remaining. It isalso possible to remove any number of the cam blocks with theirattached' stopping and feeding asseml0. blies without in any waydetracting from the ability of those remaining to continue knittingfabric. While we have chosen to illustrate and described the inventionrelative to a multi-feed machine of the type shown, we do not intend toIl limit our invention to the specific construction shown since the samemay be applied to all general classes of circular knitting machines.

Referring to Fig. 1, a multi-feed knitting machine is shown having aneedle cylinder I witha in which are mounted needles of either the latchor spring beard type, said cylinder being rotatable in a circular base 2mounted on a frame 3 which is supported by a plurality of legs l.Upright posts 5 support a creel generally indicated by 25 numeral 6 uponwhich a supply of knitting yarns equal in number to the feeding stationsspaced about said needle cylinder are placed. A plurality of individualcam assemblies are spaced about said needle cylinder, one of theseassemblies being shown at l,- and three similar assemblies being shownatl, 9 and I0. For purposes of clearness the complete complement ofindividual cam assemblies has not been shown. The invention is notnecessarily limited in application to a machine having individual camassemblies like those herein illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, but

may be used and would be particularly useful in any multi-feed knittingmachine wherein cams are mounted in a continuous ring encircling aneedle cylinder.

The framework of the machine has been extended to one side to provide anextension I I and bearings I2 and I3 within which a shaft Il isrotatably mounted. Driving and loose pulleys are associated with shaftIQ in a manner to receive power from some source through a belt and areadapted to drive the elements of the machine through gearing not shownherein since it forms no part of the present invention. A belt shifterl0 is mounted to slide horizontally below the pulleys and is held indriving position by one or the other of two catches i5 which are held bya fixed latch which is attached to the frame. The operator may unlatchthisbelt shifter by lifting upwardly on handle i6 in which case thespring I1 will draw the shifter and belt over on' to the Aloose pulley.In case one of the feeding yarns breaks or when fabric becomes loaded upon the needles or f or any of the other reasons herein given, anAelectrical circuit is completed which energizes a magnet at Il, saidmagnet withdrawing a catch which releases a latch I allowing a plungerto be pulled upwardly by spring 2| so 10 that the belt shifter will beautomatically released and the belt shifted to the loose pulley by meansof spring l1.- Other means of throwingl ofi" the .drive.'with or withouta brake, may be .employed i:ivithout departing from the spirit of theinvenon. Referring to Figs. 1 and 17 we will indicate how the machine iswired to provide an electrical circuit which makes it 'possible for thestop motion to instantaneously release the belt shifter vand stop themachine. 'Ihe current is taken from any ordinary source at 22 and passeslthrough transformer 23 where it is stepped down to a suitable voltagefor the purpose herein concerned. Under normal operating conditions thecurrent merely completes a circuit through a light at 24.

knife switch being closed. this light indicating' to the machineoperator that the severalyarns are feeding properly and that none of thestop motions are being actuated for any of the usual causes. A combinedmagnetically operated catch and buzzer indicated at I 3. operates tolatch the plunger 2l and also a brake generally indicated at 25, but notdescribed herein since it forms no important part of the invention, inan inoperative position. In the event that one of thedetents 21 or anyof the other associated detents which are to be described later -isallowed to swing from an inactive position to contact an element whichterminates the live portion of said circuit, generthe machine butconnected through suitable connections to the electrical circuitpreviously described, a different circuit will be completed .through themachine ground which will energize th'e magnetic catch at I8 and releasethe belt shifter and/orbrake. Atlthe same time knife switch will beopened, and, of course, light 24 will cease to burn indicating that thecircuithas been closed to the flow of curi-ent. The knife switch 25 maybe of conventional construction and is to be tripped by plunger 20 orany of the other parts actuated therewith upon shifting of thebelt. li-8 Referring to Figs. 2 and'3, one of th'e individual "cam blocks 1 isshown which has a base 30 for attaching to the frame of the machine andalso carries needle cams, jack cams and sinker cams which operate o nneedles and slnkers to draw stitches asthey pass behind each of thesecam 00 blocks. 4I'hesesinker'cams are mounted under a plate `3l which isattached to the upper end of block 1 by means of a suitableangularconnecting piece 32. A stud 33 is arranged to project -upwardly fromplate 3`I and attached to the c5 upper end cf this stud by means of asuitable connecting bolt or screw is a support 34 which carries a yamguiding finger 35 having two porcelain v guides .33 and 31 through whichthe yarn is threaded as it is lcd to the needles. This yarn 70 guidingfinger is capable of-beng swung upwardly` to an inactive'posltion (Fig.14). wherein it.wlll not operate to feed yarn tolthe needles and theflngeris held -in either of its extreme positions by means oi' a springand stops4 later to be de- 15 scribed. The fact that'this yarn guideSwings ally indicated at 28 and which is insulated from n suonava to theupper extremity not only makes it possible, for one of the feeds to bedropped out, but such movement greatly facilitates the threading of theguide itself. 'I'he support 34 has a slot therein which extends in sucha direction that the support 5 and its attached parts may be adjustedradially of. the machine to properly position the guide just outside theneedle circle but outoi contact with the needles.

A contact element 33 is attached to support 34' 1b along with a pair ofradiallyl projecting strips `39 and 40 shown in Fig. 4, the threeelements being insulated fromthe support by means of washers 4I and 42through which pass screws 43.

The lower strip 39 has a -curved outer end in .which seatbars 44,.aplurality of which extend between adjacent stop motionsas they arespaced about the machine. It is -posslble to quickly remove these barssince the upper strip 40 is exible an'd merely serves to maintain saidbars in place. One of the bars 44 has attached thereto a conductor 45which leads down to the transformer or other source of electricalcurrent. It is to'be understood, of course, that batteries lmay be usedin place of the transformer herein shown. Any pair of bars 44 except oneincluding the bar to which conductor 45 is attached may be removed fromthe machineto render one of the stop motions inoperative in case it is`not desired to use the particular ya`rn feed corresponding or in theevent that a complete cam block assembly is to be temporarily taken outof action. This removal will not affect the function of the stop motionsremaining, and, for this reason, the stop motions and .their connectingelements are particularly adapted to 'multi-feed machines having a greatnumber of feeds since they act collectively, but are also capable ofperforming their function individually if need be.

Referring to Figs.' 5-8 and 14, the stop motion assembly will bedescribed in greater'detall. The yarn feeding nger 35 is fixed to ashort spindle 45 which passes througha bearing 41 in one end of support34. A knurled thumbwheel 43 is secured by means of a set screw'to theopposite end .of this. spindle 46 to hold it in axial 'position in, itsbearing and also to serve as a means of manuallyrotating said yarnfeeding fingers into and out of active position. A pin 49 passes throughknurled vwheel `43 and is so positioned circumferentially of the sameas' tolimit thel swing of said yarn nger in both directions as it stopsagainst either one of the shoulders 5,0 or 5i, Fig. 8. At the other endof this pin 49 has been attached .a coil spring 52 which is'connected atits cuter end to the support. This spring is under sulcient tension tomaintain the'ya'rn. nger in either of its extreme positions as shown inFigs.v 6 and 14.

A detent 21 is pivoted on a sleeve `45' on spindle 44 and is heldupwardly against the action of 'gravity by means of the yarn 53 as itpasses downwardly to the needles through guides 36 and 31. In case theyarn breaks or becomes excessively slack -the detent will swingdownwardly (Figr') until a` projection. 54 at the upper end thereofstrikes against contact element 33 thereby completing a circuit throughthe. machine ground to magnetically operate catch I3. The machine willthen be stoppedas described" above. l

-Referring to Figs. 5 and 9-13, a part of the stop motion will bedescribed which provides for stopping the machine when a butt is broken`on a needlek or; if for any other reason, a needle does not adhere tothe path in which it is designed to t5 aleman 3 travel. 'I'his devicealso works upon loading upof the fabric onthe needles in which case thefabric will build or pucker up on top of the stitch ring as shown inFig.4 11. An arm desigi nated by numeral 55 is pivoted on the end ofspindle 45 by means of a screw 58 projecting from that spindle, andfurther, carries a pin 51 at its upper end which projects inwardly farenough to contact the vstrip 38 when it is actuated. This strip 38 hasbeen provided with a separate extension 58 which may be bent to asuitable arc which will provide for pin 51 making contact with itwhenever the arm 55 is rotated through a slight angle as shown in Fig.l0. An extension y 5 58 provided with a long slot therein which engagesabout screw 55 and is clamped in position by another shouldered screw 58has a hooked projection 6| at its lower end which will engage the fabricwhenever the same has loaded up on the o needles, the same extension 59has a second projection 52 which extends at right angles over the pathof needles which normally pass beneath when they are properly guided bytheir cams. Spindle 46 has a spring pressed plunger 63 g5 therein whichnormally engages a corresponding indentation in arm 55 to maintain thesame in a substantially vertical position.

' In operation the arm 55 and its projecting pin 51 will be swimg fromits vertical position until said projecting pin contacts element 38and/or the extension 58 whenever a needle passes through which has forsome reason failed to be guided within the proper pathway as shown inFigs. 9 and 10, also upon loading up of the needles as shown in Fig. 1l.Extension 59 is adjustable along arm 55 by means of clamping screw 60.Whenever the yarn feeding nger is swung to an inoperative position, arm55 will be rotated around with that finger to the position of Fig. 14wherein pin 51 will engage the hooked end 38' of contact strip 38. Theportion of the stop motion which functions on yarn breakage is includedwith every yarn finger, but it is preferable although not necessary, touse the elements which have been described relative to Figs. 9-13 atspaced feeds about the machine, since they do not function except atvery rare occasions.

In Figs. l5 and 16 a modified attachment is shown applied to arm 55which actuates the stop -motion whenever fabric having a hole thereinpasses downwardly over a fabric supporting ring 5l which is adjacentstitch ring 65, In'this case arm and pin 51 function in exactly the sameway they did in the modification described above,

55 but have attached thereto in place of extension 55, a bracket 55which has a vertically disposed extension 61 at the top and a forkedprojection at 58 extending laterally from the bottom. An arm 55 ispivotedat 10-and curves inwardly at its 60 lowermost end to form afeeler 1I which will engage any hole .in the fabric as it passes overelement 5l. Since the cylinder, the stitch ring and fabric ring M arerotating, the lower end of arm I! which engages a hole in the fabricwill be swung in such a direction to force pinl 51 into contact withstrip 88 or extension 58 thereof. A spring 12 is attached at one end toarm 55 and at its opposite end to element 55 to resiliently press feeler1l against the fabric. This stop which operates upon engaging a hole inthe fabric is also used upon only a few of the feeds of the machinesince it is a very rare loccurrence to encounter such'mpcrfections, andif a hole is actu-v ally found in the fabric, there is no particularadvantage in stopping the machine in a very short space asis necessaryupon breakage of one of the feeding yarns.

Referring to Fig. 6, it will be noted that yarn guide finger 35 isprovided withl a downwardly projecting flange 13 which is beveled alongits 5 lower edge and is located very closely adjacent the rotatingcircle of needles. This lower edge serves very effectively to open andhold open any needle latches which tend to swing outwardly under thecentrifugal force exerted upon them. 10

The yarn feeding and stop-motion assembly which has been described aboveforms a particularly compact unit which acts practically independent ofother elements of the machine and very effectively stops or initiatesthe stopping 15 mechanism of the knitting machine whenever a yarnbreaks, upon loading up of the needles, upon encountering holes in thefabric and whenever a needle fails to beproperly guided within itsintended pathway. Any one of the feeding 20 fingers can beinstantaneously thrown out of action and that stopping mechanism whichaccompanies said finger is capable of being immediately disconnectedfrom all those adjacent by simply removing the bar Il on either side ofthe g5 same. This complete detachment of one of the assemblies does notin any way affect the full and complete function of those remaining. Themachine Amay be set up with only the stopmotions which function uponyarn breakage, or it may 30 be provided with any number of the othermotions which it is considered necessary to have, and these othermotions function in combination with the same contacting elements andelectrical circuit without any change or adjustment on this 35 lattermechanism.

The invention has been described relative to one particular embodimentof the same, but it is evident that many modifications may occur to oneskilled in the art without departing from the o original spirit of theinvention, and we do not intend to be limited except by the scope oftheV appended claims.

We claim: l

l. A stop motion for a multi-feed knitting ma- 5 chine including anelectric circuit and individual stop motions associated with each ofseveral feeds, the circuit including detachable current carrying parts,the construction being such that by detaching certain ones of saidcurrent carrying parts 5o the stop motions at several of the feedsmay-be rendered ineffective without. rendering ineffective the stopmotions at the other feeds. y

2. In a knitting machine, the combination of a plurality of yarn feedingassemblies, yarn feed- 55 ing fingers common to each assembly, supportsfor carrying said fingers, extensions projecting from said support andinsulated from the same,

a contact piece also insulated from said support,

a detent associated'with each support and its w finger and arranged tobe held in one position by a feeding yarn and to engage the contactpiece whenever said yam fails to hold its detent in an uppermostposition, quick detachable bars extending between said extensions one ofwhich is 55 connected to a source of electric current.

3. In a knitting machine, the combination of a yarn feeding finger, asupport to which said nger is attached, means for carrying an electriccurrent into close proximity to said nger and 70 stopping meansassociated with said nger and its support, said means being arranged tocontact the current carrying means upon breakage of yarn, and a secondstopping meansarranged to contact the same member when a needle passes75 outside its normal pathway or when' fabric loads 'f up on needles.

Y4. In a knitting machine, the combination of yarn -ifeeding means ateach of a plurality oi' feeding stations. stopping' means includingcurrent carrying devices and yarn controlled detenta operable uponbreakage of yarn to contact said current carrying devices and complete acircuit, re-

' movable connections for carrying current between said devices, theconstruction being such that one or more ot said connections may beremoved to isolate one or' more oi.' said stopping means at certain.' ofthe feeding stations without ailecting those remainingl 5. In a.knitting machine, a plurality of'feeding stations and means for-feedingyarn at each feeding station. stop-mechanism associated 4with saidfeeding means` at each station including current carrying-membersconnected to a source of current and connectible toground by yarncontrolled detenta, at least one such detent being associated with eachof the feeding means, connecting means for carrying current between thestopping mechanisms at adjacent feedingstation, the construcasocianadjacent each of the said feeding mean's'tor stopping the machine uponan abnormal condition in the feeding yarn including a yarn engagingdetent and current carrying elements, o ne of which elements isremovable and extends from that stopping means to the next, theconstruction being such that one or more of the stopping means may berendered inactive upon removal oi.' connecting, current carryingelements without affecting stopping of the machine as iniluencedstopping devices remaining.

ROBERT H. Lawson. Y WILLIAM L. sMrrn Jn;

by thosev 2

